Caitlin Clark Takes Cheap Shot From Breanna Stewart Before Scoring 22 Points

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Stewart helps New York top Indiana again 91-80 despite strong game from Caitlin Clark

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Fever Liberty Basketball

Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark signs autographs for fans before the start of WNBA basketball game against the New York Liberty, Saturday, May 18, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Noah K. Murray)

ASSOCIATED PRESS 

NEW YORK (AP) — Caitlin Clark had the best game of her young professional career. It still wasn’t enough for the Indiana Fever to come away with their first victory of the season.

Breanna Stewart scored 24 points to lead a balanced New York offense as the Liberty beat Clark and the Fever 91-80 on Saturday in front of a sellout crowd of 17,735 at the Barclays Center.

She finished with 22 points — her best total in the three games — to go with eight assists and six rebounds. She also had eight turnovers.

“I thought I came out and just played harder and I think that’s really just my biggest focus going forward,” Clark said. “Just come out and compete and play hard. Our whole group did that.”

With Clark playing in New York for the first time and the Liberty having their home opener, the game produced more than $2 million in ticket revenue, which is a WNBA record, a person familiar with the situation told The Associated Press. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to talk about the team’s revenue.

“I think the buzz and eyes that Caitlin has brought from Iowa now to the WNBA is going to be a collective win for all,” Stewart said. “When I first started in the league, some teams weren’t even making revenue. … It’s a long time coming. We’re happy to be at this point, but we’re not satisfied.”

It was the second consecutive meeting between the teams that finished off a home-and-home set. New York (3-0) won by 36 points on Thursday, but the Fever were more competitive in this one thanks to a strong effort by Clark.

“It was better, but we shouldn’t be happy,” Fever guard Kelsey Mitchell said. “We didn’t lose by 40 so I’ll take it.”

The No. 1 pick in the WNBA draft came into the game averaging 14.5 points, 4.5 assists and 3.5 rebounds for the Fever (0-3).

This was Clark’s first time playing in New York as Iowa never played in the city, nor did she when she was in high school or with her AAU team.

“This arena is amazing. It’ll be fun for me to go around to all the new WNBA arenas and kind of check off the box,” Clark said. “This is certainly one that’s definitely up there. I know the crowd will be incredible tonight, so just enjoy it.”

Clark drew a bunch of sports celebrities to the game including Billie Jean King, Sue Bird, Megan Rapinoe, Michelle Wie West and Dawn Staley. Actor Jason Sudeikis, who went to a few of Clark’s games in college, also was in attendance.

The NCAA Division I all-time leading scorer gave them a lot to watch in the first quarter. She looked comfortable scoring 10 points, hitting four of her five shots in the period. Clark, who only had nine points in the matchup between the teams on Thursday, also hit a logo 3-pointer just after a foul was called.

The play went to review and it was deemed the shot came after the foul, so the deep 3 didn’t count.

Despite the strong opening effort, Indiana trailed 33-22 after one quarter and was down 57-37 at the half. New York shot 56% in the first half, including hitting 12 of 18 from behind the 3-point line.

It didn’t get much better in the second half, as the Liberty kept shooting well and hitting 3s. All five of New York’s starters hit at least two 3-pointers in the game while the Liberty made 15. Indiana never got the game within single digits; however, Clark did wow the crowd by hitting two deep 3-pointers that drew oohs and aahs.

City Of Kansas City Apologizes For Their “Inappropriate” Tweet About Harrison Butker Following His Controversial Graduation Speech

Harrison Butker (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images) Kansas City Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker delivered a controversial graduation speech days ago, but the backlash has not been lifted. On May 11, Butker addressed the class of 2024 at Benedictine College in Atchison, Kansas. Throughout his address, Butker criticized birth control, IVF, Pride Month, and other issues while urging women to be stay-at-home moms. Apart from denouncing Pride Month as a “deadly sin” and lamenting diversity and equity campaigns, Butker also caused a stir when he proposed that women would be better off marrying and starting families than pursuing jobs. The City of Kansas City’s official X account was criticized for removing a post on Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker. The account operator made an excessively personal jab at Butker. The message revealed his whereabouts, stating that Butker resides in a different Missourian city.

“We apologize [sic] for our previous tweet. It was shared in error,” the post read.

We apologies for our previous tweet. It was shared in error.

— Kansas City (@KansasCity) May 16, 2024

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Although the post was taken down, Quinton Lucas, the mayor of Kansas City, addressed the matter in a different post, labeling it as “clearly inappropriate.”

“A message appeared earlier this evening from a City public account. The message was clearly inappropriate for a public account. The City has correctly apologized for the error, will review account access, and ensure nothing like it is shared in the future from public channels.”

The outcry has grown since Butker made the remarks on Saturday during a speech to graduates at Benedictine College, a small Catholic university in Atchison, Kansas. Harrison Butker’s remarks do not represent the opinions of the NFL, according to a statement released by the league on Wednesday.

“Harrison Butker gave a speech in his personal capacity. His views are not those of the NFL as an organization,” said Senior Vice President Jonathan Beane, the league’s chief diversity and inclusion officer. “The NFL is steadfast in our commitment to inclusion, which only makes our league stronger.”

GLAAD also released a statement regarding Butker’s remarks during Pride Month, labeling it as “a clear miss” and “woefully out of step with Americans about Pride, LGBTQ people, and women.” The Chiefs, the reigning Super Bowl winners, have not made an announcement regarding the situation.

Harrison Butker’s Comments On Women Are Garnering The Most Attention

Harrison Butker (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images) Butker asserted, in front of about 485 male and female graduates, that a woman’s achievements at home are more significant than her aspirations in the classroom or in her career.

“I want to speak directly to you briefly because I think it is you, the women, who have had the most diabolical lies told to you,” he said.

“How many of you are sitting here now about to cross this stage and are thinking about all the promotions and titles you are going to get in your career? Some of you may go on to lead successful careers in the world, but I would venture to guess that the majority of you are most excited about your marriage and the children you will bring into this world,” per CNN.com.

Butker also praised his wife, Isabelle, saying she “would be the first to say her life truly started when she began living her vocation as a wife and as a mother.” Many others were offended by Butker’s reference to Swift, the pop singer who is currently dating Travis Kelce of the Kansas City Chiefs and was a regular at Chiefs games last season, including the Super Bowl.